The UK government agreed a new deal for services for the Cross Country franchise, which will deliver improved connections, a better customer experience and will set tough new targets. Under the new contract, Arriva Cross Country (AXC) will continue to run services which stretch from Aberdeen to Penzance, Bournemouth to Manchester and from Stansted to Cardiff until October 2019. The franchise, which spans parts of England, Scotland and Wales, serves both commuters and long distance passengers.
The new deal will deliver a range of new benefits for passengers including:
– 39,000 more seats at peak times along the Edinburgh to Plymouth route through Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol, by December 2017
– shorter journey times from Birmingham to Manchester
– £20 million (23 million euros) government investment in more modern trains
– free Wi-Fi by April 2018 and 4G for faster download speeds
– customer services now open 24/7 and a new mobile app to buy tickets and check live running times
– challenging targets on punctuality and service reliability to improve the passenger experience
– funding for community rail partnerships across the Cross Country network per year.
Arriva Cross Country will now start work on its new timetable that could introduce thousands of extra seats across the network from December 2017. It will pay the government a premium of £163 million (188.5 million euros) to operate the franchise from September 2016 until October 2019.
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